As you can tell, it's not 100% technically accurate, but considering that Biesty illustrates for the 9-12 crowd, it gets an amazing amount right, including the wire-mesh "tires" on the LRV and the tubes in the astronauts' Liquid Cooling Garments. Too bad there aren't more artists of his talent and interests around - there are really only so many cutaways of medieval castles one man can take!

Post by brotherofthemoon on Apr 3, 2010 17:33:09 GMT -4

Next time a HB makes yet another gaff I'll point him (they are always male, aren't they?) to this.

Kids can know this stuff. Why can't you?

Yeah, isn't it amazing how a book for pre-teens shows the parachutes AROUND the CM's access tunnel?

Seriously though, the thing that impresses me about Stephen Biesty is that he illustrates for kids, but has a fastidious attention to technical and historical detail that makes him appealing for adults. Before you even get to the actual Saturn V, I notice he included the crushable ribs that were part of the Earth Impact System, accurately depicted the arrangement of the SM RCS's fuel and oxidizer tanks (which is something that Scott Sullivan didn't do in Virtual Apollo!), and does an excellent job overall showing how the CM and SM were laid out and assembled. All little things a 10 year old wouldn't notice - but an adult Apollo "nutter" would get a big grin out of.

Post by Kiwi on Apr 4, 2010 8:19:12 GMT -4

Thanks Brotherofthemoon, it certainly is an excellent drawing. Very informative.

Just out of interest, and to save us from repeating something that is wrong, would everyone post whatever errors they notice. I saw two:1. Rubber tyres on the rover.2. That the astronauts would crawl through the tunnel to the LM. They didn't -- they floated. This is the second time I saw that error in two days -- it is common in press reports of Apollo 11.

Don't criticize what you can't understand. — Bob Dylan, “The Times They Are A-Changin'” (1963)Some people think they are thinking when they are really rearranging their prejudices and superstitions. — Edward R. Murrow (1908–65)

Post by Bob B. on Apr 5, 2010 15:31:27 GMT -4

Actually, after I got the guy's email I changed it to antennas. I did some Googling and virtually every reference I could find to "aerials" used the plural antennas, so I caved and went with the majority.

Post by brotherofthemoon on Apr 5, 2010 18:47:22 GMT -4

Besides the whole antenna/antennae issue, the only thing that really grates on me about this illustration is the size of the S-IC. It's been heavily truncated here compared to the real thing - look at the gap between the American flag and the "USA" on the first stage. Biesty's take of the Saturn V gives it LH2 and RP tanks of roughly equal proportions, when the LH2 tank was really more than a third larger in volume and quite a bit longer. I also noticed he sorta cheated on the overall length of the stage by having the F-1s, thrust structure, and heat shield suspended from the base of the stage and in "exploded view." Besides that, his depiction of the internal arrangement of the three stages and the IU are spot-on.

Yeah, I know it's kind of pointless nitpicking the technical accuracy of an illustration drawing in a children's book, but considering Biesty's usually fastidious attention to detail, the S-IC sizing does annoy me.